flash trouble (wireless)

[steven_chisholm]

<p>Hi,<br>

I recently purchased a Minolta program 3500xi flash for use with my sony alpha. It works great when attached to the camera however it won't work wirelessly.<br>

I'm told this is because wireless technology designed for film cameras is different from those designed for DSLR's, and as such, I won't be able to use the flash wirelessly.<br>

Could anyone point me in the direction of a cable which would allow me to use it off camera (mounted to a tripod) ? I have no idea what to look for!</p>

 

[ricardovaste]

<p>The 3600HSD was the orignal 'base' level flash - works wirelessly... discontinued now, even the Sony version. Now there is the HVL-F42AM, nice features for the price. You can get the old 5600HSD's pretty cheap now - great power and versitility for the price... I have one.</p>

<p>Having said that, I'm pretty sure the 3500XI should still work on an Alpha wirelessly? I check this site for compatability and what not:<br>

http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/flashes.php</p>

<p>Still, if you do a lot of flash or are looking to the above flashes are nice options.</p>

<p>Have you:<br>

a) mounted the flash on the camera<br>

b) switched to wireless mode with the flash still on the camera<br>

c) then taken the flash off and flipped up the pop up flash<br>

d) pressing the AEL button will fire a 'test' flash to see if the flash responds wirelessly</p>

[steven_chisholm]

<p>I did check for compatibility before I bought it, although I must admit that as a bit of a novice I skimmed over a lot of it first time round. All the info I checked seemed to indicate that it would work although when I started having problems wirelessly I googled it and found I was not the first to have this problem. The following link provides the explanation I mentioned previously (although I have no idea how accurate the author is) <a href="http://alphasight.blogspot.com/2008/10/minolta-program-3500xi-flash.html">http://alphasight.blogspot.com/2008/10/minolta-program-3500xi-flash.html</a>.<br>

Anyway, thanks for your response! I have just plumped for a sony off camera hotshoe cable from ebay which (fingers crossed) should allow me to work with the flash on the tripod - albeit within a 4 meter radius!</p>

[michael_hohner]

<p>Even with a cable the 3500xi will be of limited use, because it will always fire at full power.</p>

[gregory_king1]

<p>What Michael said. If it doesn't have "D" in the title (2500D, 3600HS(D), 5600HS(D)), it won't fire wirelessly and will fire full power (unless manual-power-capable).<br>

You DO realize it's firing full power on the camera, right? You have no flash metering. You must be shooting bounce. ;-)<br>

I hope you didn't pay much. The 5200i/5400xi is probably your best cheap bet, and should be able to be had for under $50. Michael's site will say if the 5200i has manual controls...I know the 5400xi does.</p>